Hyderabad Encounter: Telangana Government Sets up SIT to Probe Case

The SIT will be led by Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat. It has been set up at a time when the case is already being investigated by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

New Delhi: In a fresh development on the ongoing row over killing in an encounter of the four accused in the Hyderabad gang-rape and murder case, by Cyberabad Police on Friday, the Telangana government on Sunday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.

Government of Telangana constitutes a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for investigation into the encounter by police against the 4 accused who were involved in a woman veterinarian's rape and murder. The SIT will be headed by Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat. pic.twitter.com/0zfYBqyLyv

— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2019

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat will head the SIT.

The formation of the SIT comes even as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has started a probe into the case. Petitions have also been filed in the Supreme Court alleging non-compliance of its 2014 guidelines on police encounters. The Telangana High Court, meanwhile, has directed that the bodies of the four accused be preserved till December 9.

In a sensational early morning development on Friday, the Cyberabad Police had shot dead the four accused when they, as per the police version, tried to escape from the crime scene where they had been taken to recreate the sequence of events which led to them sexually assaulting and killing the 27-year-old veterinarian when her scooter broke down in Shamshabad, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The incident, which took place on November 27, had triggered massive outrage across the nation. Protests were held in several cities of the country, including Hyderabad and Delhi.

The accused were in 14-day judicial custody at the time of the encounter, which led to split opinions on social media. While general people and the majority of netizens justified and celebrated the encounter, there were those who questioned it, and termed it ‘extra-judicial.’